Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Study of Experimental Organ Donation Models for Lung Transplantation
Published on: March 15, 2024
A novel boundary issue: should a patient be an organ donor for their physician?
1Section of Medical Ethics, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, 41 Mall Road, Burlington, Massachusetts 01805, USA. david.steinberg@lahey.org
Abstract:
It is argued that organ donation from a patient to the patient's physician is ethically dubious because donation decisions will be inappropriately influenced and the negative public perceptions will result in more harm than good. It is suggested that to protect the perception of the physician-patient relationship, avoid cynicism about medicine's attitude to patient welfare and maintain trust in the medical profession, a new professional boundary should be established to prevent physicians from receiving organs for transplantation donated by their patients.
Related Concept Videos
Tissue Transplantation
The Biology of Tissue Transplantation
The biology of tissue transplantation hinges on the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules. These molecules...
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Kidney Transplant I: Introduction
Bone Marrow Sampling and Transplants
The transplant begins with high doses of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, which aim to destroy the...
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's cancer...
Ethical Dilemmas II

